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May 14, 2013

One question for Dickens

I got this question as part of a LiveJournal meme recently:

If you could see Charles Dickens face-to-face and ask him one question about anything, what would you choose?

My answer:

I'll bet this one will surprise you. :-) I would say, "Mr. Dickens, would you please take out the part in Little Dorrit where Amy asks Arthur to call her 'Little Dorrit' forever? Because honestly, it's just ridiculous."

So, there you have it! Now your turn. If you could ask Dickens one question about anything, what would it be?

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This is easy because I've actually thought about it a lot.

First off, I'd waive any Drood questions, because If I'm seeing him face to face, I'm guessing (hoping) that we're in Heaven and there'll be other people who'll ask those questions, so I can just eavesdrop.

I'd ask him if he could explain to me why, out of all the wonderful characters, in all of his wonderful books (suck up), Estella is my favotite.

I remember reading Great Expectations when I was fourteen or fifteen years old, and I remember hating when she went out of the story - when she was, "educating for a lady; far out of reach," - and being so happy when she came back.

I don't know why this is. Maybe because we get so little Estella in the book. Maybe less is more?

This would really depend on my mood and, like Jerry said, whether I could hear others' Q&A, too. Borrowing a question for Tolkien, I would be curious to hear Dickens' opinion on the movie and TV adaptations of his books.

Thanks Gina. But I can only take credit for the words, not the sentiment. That belongs to Miss Emerson, my 8th Grade English Literature Teacher. The same question was raised. Her response was essentially what I shared with Christopher. I guess it's been rattling around my cavernous cranium ever since, looking for a way out.